Following the wreck Friday afternoon causing a box truck to ignite into flames, killing one man and injuring two workers from a local furniture store, an Aaron’s employee has confirmed that his co-workers are now recovering from the incident within their homes with only “bumps and bruises.”

These light, nonlife-threatening injuries are in part, due to the heroic actions of an off-duty Roswell firefighter, Carlos Garcia.

Roswell Fire Department’s public information officer Todd Wildermuth said in a news release that Garcia was at his father’s auto-body shop near the intersection of South Main Street and the Roswell Relief Route where the crash occurred — in the right place at the right time.
“Garcia heard the loud noise of the crash, went outside and ran to the burning Isuzu cargo vehicle,” Wildermuth said. “The truck had flipped onto its passenger side and two men, employees of the business, were in the cab, the 32-year-old driver and the 26-year-old passenger.”
One of the men in the vehicle was unconscious from the crash and pinning down the other. A good Samaritan assisted Garcia in rescuing the unconscious man from the vehicle, freeing the conscious man.
“Kicking and pulling on the truck’s windshield, Garcia was able to get it loose and create enough space to pull out the unconscious man, which he did with the help of another man who had been passing by and had come up to assist,” Wildermuth said. “By the time they pulled the injured man to safety, the other man from inside the truck had exited from the vehicle.”
The victim regained consciousness shortly after getting pulled from the truck. Garcia provided medical attention to the injured men as they waited for emergency medical services, who would eventually be transported to a local hospital.
Wildermuth said another member of the Roswell Fire Department, EMS Division Chief Eric Mann, drove upon the scene and investigated the other vehicle affected by the accident.
“Mann stopped and checked on the driver of the pickup that had struck the larger delivery truck,” Wildermuth said. “The driver of the Nissan Titan pickup was the lone occupant of the pickup and was deceased, Mann confirmed. The deceased driver was identified as Sean Michael Murphy, 47, of Roswell.”
Wildermuth said RPD’s investigation indicates that Murphy, the driver of the pickup truck was traveling southbound on Main Street at a high rate of speed when the accident occurred. The box truck, also traveling southbound, stopped at a red light at the Roswell Relief Route intersection.
“It is believed the light had just turned green and the delivery truck had just begun to drive forward when it was struck from behind, causing it to flip to its side and ignite into fire.”
Firefighter Carlos Garcia was one of the nine graduates from the Louis Jones Training Center in April 2016.
Multimedia-Crime reporter Trevier Gonzalez can be reached at 575-622-7710, ext. 301, or at breakingnews@rdrnews.com.